HIGHLIGHTS

Xiaomi Redmi 5 and Redmi 5 Plus are due to launch in China on Thursday. Ahead of that launch, Xiaomi global spokesperson Donovan Sung has shared four images of the smartphones on Twitter, giving us a sneak preview. The images reveal the design of the Redmi 5 and Redmi 5 Plus, which can be seen to sport 18:9 displays, no hardware capacitive buttons, and a rear fingerprint sensor. To recall, last week, the Redmi 5 was reportedly spotted on Chinese telecommunications certification site TENAA, and if that listing is correct, we have a fair idea of the smartphone’s specifications. Its price was also leaked in a separate report.

In his Twitter post, Sung says, “Is everyone ready for the all-new Redmi 5 and Redmi 5 Plus? We’re launching these two new devices in China on Thursday Dec 7. Giving everyone a sneak preview!” As we mentioned, the images shared by Sung show the smartphones from all angles, and we can see a taller than usual 18:9 display, the lack of hardware capacitive buttons for navigation, and the presence of a rear fingerprint sensor below the flash module.

There appears to be no visible design difference between. Instead, the differences can be expected to lie in the specifications.

Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus

Once again, as we mentioned, alongside the launch announcement last week, the Xiaomi Redmi 5 was reportedly spotted on the site of Chinese telecommunications certification authority, TENAA. The smartphone is listed to sport a 5.7-inch HD+ (720×1440 pixels) 18:9 display, and like other bezel-less display, we can expect a much smaller phone form factor in relation to display size compared to what we see on traditional 16:9 displays.

The TENAA listing also shows what’s thought to be the Redmi 5 to run on a 1.8GHz octa-core SoC, which is speculated to either be the Snapdragon 450 or Snapdragon 625 – this latter seems less likely, as the Redmi 4 sported a Snapdragon 435 SoC and the company can be expected to follow through with another Snapdragon 400-Series processor.

The purported Redmi 5 listing on TENAA mentions three RAM options – 2GB, 3GB, and 4GB – as well as three storage options – 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB – which can be expected to correspond in individual SKUs. Storage is said to be expandable via microSD card (up to 128GB). The smartphone is listed with a 3200mAh battery – significantly smaller than the Redmi 4’s 4100mAh offering. It is said to sport 12-megapixel rear camera and a 5-megapixel front camera. Dimensions are listed as 151.8×72.8×7.7mm, and a weight of 157 grams. The smartphone is listed to run Android 7.1.2, tipping an MIUI 9 build out-of-the-box. The fingerprint scanner can be seen on the rear panel.

The Redmi 5 Plus on the other hand, based on previous leaks, can be expected to sport a Snapdragon 625 or Snapdragon 630 SoC, different RAM and storage variants, and a larger 4000mAh battery. We don’t have long to wait however before the December 7 launch, when Xiaomi can be expected to reveal everything about the Redmi 5 and Redmi 5 Plus.

Slashleaks also corroborates the Redmi 5 listing, with its own matching leaked renders and specifications. It adds a CNY 1,399 (roughly Rs. 13,600) price, and claims the first sale will be on December 10.

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